Eric Rogers – Florida Today — Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered all Florida public schools to close for at least two weeks amid concerns about the spread of the COVID-19 virus, a Brevard County school official confirmed Friday.
A formal announcement is expected this evening.
Assistant Superintendent Matt Reed said Brevard Public Schools was informed of the decision in a conference call with Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran late Friday afternoon.
Reed confirmed the order applies to Brevard County schools, which will remain closed through March 30.
“During that time, all extracurricular activities, including sports, are suspended,” Reed said.
While students are away, the district will implement deep cleaning at all schools and continue to refine plans for remote learning in the event closures are extended beyond the end of the month.
Some critical employees will be expected to work during the closure, Reed said.
“Right now, we’re going through all employee contracts, classification by classification, to determine who will be needed to work and when, and how they’ll be paid,” he said.
Many questions remained unanswered. Reed said the situation was moving quickly and plans were still developing.
“The (school district) leadership team is working all the rest of next week to figure this out.”
